


Sunset Angel

by komorykatt



Category: Tales of Crestoria
Genre: Developing Relationship, M/M, Minor Violence, Pining, emotionally repressed gays perceive what seems to be a Feeling(tm)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28278636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/komorykatt/pseuds/komorykatt
Summary: “C'mon!Why the hell are you ignorin' me?” Vicious's question was closer to a desperate whine than anything else. He peered at him through the curtain of curls that hid Aegis’s expression, his brows knit.Aegis inhaled deeply, his shoulders rising with the action, then turned an icy glare onto Vicious. He realized that was the first time Aegis had looked at him since the group of transgressors had split up to cover more ground.“In case you haven’t noticed, the sun issetting, Vicious, and we still have no shelter,” he said slowly, his patience hanging by a straining thread. “I’m trying to focus on finding a way out of here, and I suggest you start doing the same. Unless you’re partial to sleeping in the snow with all these monsters?”In the fading light of a deep winter's eve, Vicious catches a side of Aegis he's never seen before.
Relationships: Aegis Alver/Vicious
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Sunset Angel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [brandumpling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandumpling/gifts).



> This fic is my Secret Santa gift for my lovely friend bran through an exchange our friend server had this month! I'm so happy I got to be their Secret Santa, bran's amazing and also has been such a great source of encouragement for my Vicious/Aegis works lately so I'm super excited I got to write something especially for them!! 💖 It's also my first shot at a Vicious-focus POV fic and MAN it was a struggle but I'm glad I finally gave the stupid sexy stink man a whirl for a few !

_Bang._

The gunshot pervaded the forest as a bullet sailed through dead air. It tore into the prone hide of a monster, leaving no more than an echoing howl and a flare of mana in its wake. 

Vicious's arm fell slack at his side, and his pistols faded in a flurry of crimson that danced to a beat not all dissimilar to that of the monster’s mana. He kicked the toe of his boot through the compacted snow underfoot, a groan stuck in his lungs. 

The sun hung low in the sky, its setting rays glinting harsh against snow-dusted treetops. He squinted against its light and the glare of lingering azure wisps that trailed skyward to the heavens. The crisp winter air grew colder by the minute as a quaint afternoon waned toward an unforgiving evening. 

He hated it. The exhilaration of battle should have been pumping through his veins in a roaring fire that sent guns blazing through every monster in sight, but instead Vicious only felt empty _._

With each passing fight the movements of combat became more stiff and mechanical— a repetition that had grown boring to him in no time at all. He had long since lost count of how many monsters he cut down over the hour, but he was sure it was far too many. Each one had been much the same; a lousy pack of weaklings hardly worth the effort, and certainly no source of entertainment through the monotony of wandering the woods all day long.

To make matters worse, what was _supposed_ to be his greatest source of entertainment during their search remained ever-stoic, his spear clenched in his grip and held at the ready.

Vicious crossed his arms behind his head, his lips pulled into a thin frown. A pointed stare was pinned to the angelic emblem that adorned Aegis's back, and Vicious watched his muscles flex beneath cerulean fabric as he swung his weapon upward through the belly of another fiend. Its death keens were the same as the hundred others that sounded before it— an annoying rattle that would fill the deafening silence for but a moment, until the next group of nuisances scurried over to the pair of transgressors in its place.

He inhaled sharply through his nose when Aegis lowered his spear and trekked onward without a word. Something essential was missing from their dance with the little devils, and all signs pointed to it being the slightest taste of company, given how Vicious’s only companion was about as present as his fighting spirit.

Aegis’s all-work-no-play attitude was getting on Vicious's nerves faster than those damned monsters could croak and die. It was typical of him to remain serious through the height of combat, but even his surefire outbursts whenever Vicious pushed just the right buttons had quickly wilted in the chilly atmosphere once the two were left on their own. It was nothing short of frustrating, in a way he couldn’t seem to pinpoint past the suffocating boredom it drew forth that sent jitters down his spine. 

He couldn’t stand it.

“Y'know with how much of a rush you're in t'get to that damn inn, I’d almost think it’s ‘cause you can’t wait to share some dinky ol’ bed with me.” Vicious trailed after Aegis with a prodding remark, each word accented by the smirk thick in his tone. Much like the monsters, he’d long since lost count of how many times he had attempted to rile Aegis up over the past hour.

And just like every time before then, he was met with a silence more frigid than the gusting winter winds. An arc of crimson mana swept across his vision in a deadly crescent moon, slaying another beast in one fell swoop. No matter what he said Aegis wouldn’t so much as flinch, and that alone bothered him more than he was willing to admit.

The groan trapped in Vicious’s chest finally broke free in a thunderous sound that could rival the monsters’ howls. He stomped ahead and captured Aegis by the wrist, halting the knight’s march in an abrupt jerk backwards. Wavering Heart slipped from his fingertips and dissolved in a ring of crimson black sparks around their feet.

“ _C'mon!_ Why the hell are you ignorin' me?” Vicious's question was closer to a desperate whine than anything else. He peered at him through the curtain of curls that hid Aegis’s expression, his brows knit.

Aegis inhaled deeply, his shoulders rising with the action, then turned an icy glare onto Vicious. He realized that was the first time Aegis had looked at him since the group of transgressors had split up to cover more ground.

“In case you haven’t noticed, the sun is _setting_ , Vicious, and we still have no shelter,” he said slowly, his patience hanging by a straining thread. “I’m trying to focus on finding a way out of here, and I suggest you start doing the same. Unless you’re partial to sleeping in the snow with all these monsters?”

Though Aegis’s remarks were rife with ire, it was still a reaction nonetheless. That was enough of a step up from utter negligence for Vicious’s grin to slither across his lips relatively undisturbed. “Like hell I am! I wanna crash in a nice warm bed as much as the next guy, but that don’t mean we can’t take a break to shoot the shit for a while. When’s the last time we didn’t have those runts breathin’ down our necks?” 

A long sigh heaved out of Aegis’s chest, and he turned his gaze back to the path ahead. An unfortunate step back into the territory of outright ignoring him, but Vicious could still work with that.

“If I recall correctly, it was your carelessness that led us all into the middle of a monster-infested forest in the first place! You don’t deserve a break in the slightest.”

That signature grin got toothier, and Vicious leaned his weight further into Aegis’s space. “Oh, so _that’s_ why yer givin' me the cold shoulder. Here I thought I did something actually worth gettin’ pissed about.”

“In what way is that not worthy of my anger? We’re lost in the _snow_ , Vicious.” Aegis’s words remained icy, but his tone was beginning to thaw enough to expose the exhaustion that laid underneath. 

Vicious took that as an invitation. His hand slid up the length of Aegis’s sleeve, stopping to firmly grip his bicep and, in one rough tug, pull him against his chest. Aegis offered little resistance when his back pressed against Vicious, and the pink flush that colored his frostbitten ears seemed to grow just a hint redder in hue.

“You really gonna blame it all on me? That doesn’t seem fair. Pretty sure Kanata’s flailin’ around had something to do with it, too.” Vicious weaved his other hand into Aegis’s tie, idly twirling the fabric between his fingers. He watched as the corners of Aegis’s expression shifted, and more of that delightful redness crawled up his neck.

“You’re insufferable...” Despite the exasperation in his voice, Aegis leaned into his touch. Vicious could feel the hammering of his heart against his chest, finally singing that sweet song he wanted to hear all day long. It was exactly the tune he’d been dying to dance to.

His fingers curled tight around the tie and he _tugged_ , leaning forward to whisper against the shell of Aegis’s ear, “What’s the matter, ya don’t have enough focus to mess around _and_ fight a couple o’ monsters? We still got plenty of time before sundown.”

Aegis at last turned his head to look back at him, and Vicious froze.

The setting sun beamed through the treetops, casting rays that framed every soft curve of Aegis’s face. A slight pout adorned plump lips, as warm orange hues that perfectly matched his dazzling eyes glowed against those bright blushing cheeks he so loved to see. Vicious’s breath caught in his throat, and he couldn’t help but stare at a sight that was nothing short of divine.

In a world of whitest winter, a single boy shined brighter than the radiant sun above. Even as he stood caught in the arms of a monster fouler than sin itself, he was _blinding_ — but Vicious couldn’t keep his eyes off him.

Trapped deep within those sunset eyes, Vicious caught sight of something he had never quite noticed before. In his filthy hands he held a man so righteous and true, yet in that breathless moment Aegis looked as fragile as a ray of sunlight flickering through the trees. One squeeze and he could shatter him in his grip, breaking that fractured little knight into something unrecognizable and _putrid_ as him.

What scared Vicious most was that he no longer wanted that. He was satisfied enough watching him melt with bright rosy cheeks like putty in his hands, and knowing that he alone was the only one who’d ever see that uptight, virtuous knight shine just as beautiful and fleeting as the setting sun.

_“Vicious?”_ Aegis’s voice rang in his ears, breaking the trance. “Is... something the matter?”

Vicious jolted, and his stomach sank.

How long had he been staring? _No,_ he didn’t even want to know an answer to that, lest that nauseating feeling roiling within make his skin prickle into spikes. But that vision stuck behind his eyes— _those blushing hues of orange and red and sun-kissed silver_ — no matter how frantically he tried to dispel it from his mind. 

He groaned loud and filled to the brim with frustration, then dropped his chin onto Aegis’s shoulder.

“Jeez… ya shouldn’t be allowed to bat them eyelashes at me like that…” he grumbled uselessly against Aegis’s coat.

“H— _Huh?!”_ Aegis’s shoulders tensed in surprise and he craned his neck around to catch a glimpse of the wilted Great Transgressor upon him, but to no avail. Vicious remained leaned against the knight even as he writhed under his weight, and his expression slowly screwed into a scowl. 

He didn’t know what kind of feeling had overcome him, nor why a simple, _stupid_ pout had held him so entranced. All he knew was that it wasn’t the feeling he had made a point to relentlessly chase out of Aegis. Where was the satisfaction, or the pride in getting under Aegis’s skin and watching him come undone? Why did the look on his face make Vicious’s stomach flutter in a curling wave of emotion that made him feel absolutely _sick?_

He didn’t want to think about it. He was the _Great Transgressor_ for fuck’s sake— no backwater knight could ever get under _his_ skin. That was his job.

All he'd ever known was how to break things, how to _kill_ things. From bottles shattering across the ground at his feet to watching all the light go dark in a beady pair of eyes— for as far back as he could remember, that was all his life had ever been. That was all he knew how to do, and all he wanted to do. Nothing would ever change that, and he damn well wasn’t about to start thinking about how he was supposed to hold on to some delicate object.

_He was the_ ** _Great Transgressor_**.

After another drawn out, exaggerated grunt tore from his throat, Vicious picked his head up and shoved Aegis off of his chest. “Whatever, I’m too thirsty for this shit. Let’s get outta here so I can find a damn tavern already.”

Aegis staggered on his feet, then turned sharp on his heel only to gawk at him. His mouth was hung agape, formed in the shape of speechless words that never managed to leave his lips. The sight was enough to lure a smirk back onto Vicious’s face, and for a moment violet eyes glinted in the waning light. 

_That_ was the kind of satisfaction he’d been dying to feel, with none of the weighty baggage of feelings to drag him down.

“I know ya could ogle me all day long, but we’re burnin’ daylight waiting for you to pick your jaw off the ground. Save the admirin’ til after we got a place to crash.” The tease held none of the heart Vicious always carried, but it still hit its mark without a cinch.

Aegis’s face turned back to a shade of burning red, but this time it was with what Vicious could only surmise to be fury. His hands were balled into tight fists, and he threw glaring daggers straight through the sly grin on his face. “You little—! Your antics are the very reason we were held up in the first place!”

“Yeah, yeah. Just get a move on, pretty boy.”

With a roll of his eyes and a brief wave of his hand, Vicious set off. For the first time since they parted from the rest of their group, he stormed ahead of Aegis to take the lead with newfound urgency guiding his every step. 

The thrum of battle kicked in his chest anew, and his eyes scanned over the area in search of another prowling monster. His fingers twitched with an itch to shoot at something, _anything_ — even just a damned stray squirrel if that was what it took.

Anything to get the lingering image of that sunset angel out of his head.

**Author's Note:**

> This whole fic was actually entirely inspired by bran DMing me [this art](https://twitter.com/shel_tales/status/1325025302452428801) like a month ago saying WHERES THE FIC VERSION OF THIS???? so once I saw I got matched to be their secret santa I was immediately like AH. I KNOW WHAT TO DO! and so I meshed that right up with their SS prompts of sunsets and angst romance for a grand lil yearning time :) 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it bran ily happy holidays!!!!!!! 💖💖💖


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